Weren't zakat and jizziya the only tools for taxation...or were there others too?
Like I mentioned, Zakat is exclusively to support poor and needy. Yes, there were other taxes too and primarily collected by the merchants, traders, trade caravans, prisoners of wars, and spoils of war (
maal-e-ghaneemat).
Ibn Taimiyah (as cited in Islahi, 1992, p.141) argues that the
Shariah sources of
public revenue fall under three heads as he says:
“ Government revenues based on the
Book and the Sunnah are three types, ghanimah, sadaqah and fay’” . Ghanimah refers
to property which has been acquired from non-Muslims after a war, which is stated in
surat al-Anfal of
al-Qur’an. One-fifth of the spoils of war was apportioned for the state
while four-fifths were generally distributed among the fighters. This was a significant
source of revenue during those periods.
Sadaqah here refers to
zakah.
While
Fay’ is the booty surrendered by the enemy without actual fighting. It covers
gifts presented to the head of state, tribute paid by enemy and financial penalties
(Ahmad, 1989, p. 11; Islahi, 1992, p.145).
Jizyah,
kharaj,
‘ushur and treasure trove are
among them.
Jizyah is a per capita financial contribution that non-Muslims were
expected to make for the provision of amenities and protection that they enjoyed in an
Islamic state without being obligated to fight for the defense of the state (Ahmad, 1989,
p. 11).
Kharaj was a tax on agricultural land located outside the Arabian Peninsula in
countries conquered by Muslims.
‘Ushur, on the other hand, is a type of retaliatory
customs duty on goods imported by foreign merchants crossing into the Islamic state
from countries where similar duty was charged from Muslim merchants. In short, it is
custom duties or toll taxes imposed on traders of other countries.
According to al-Qaradawi (1999, p.671),
“ if the proceeds of kharaj, ghanima and
fay’ are sufficient, there is no need for imposing taxes, but if some sources do not exist
or do not yield a sufficient amount, other taxes need to be levied, since the principle of
usul(8)states, ‘ Something without which an obligation cannot be fulfilled is also
obligatory’” . However, in the case where for example, the tax money is collected for
personal expenditure of the despotic monarchs or the ruler, it is not allowed.